Step 9

The final step in the set-up process is to equilibrate the
solvated system. There is no unique way to do this but a reasonable
procedure follows that of the refinement of step 7. This involves
performing a series of molecular dynamics simulations in which the heavy
atoms
of the protein are harmonically tethered. The tether force
constants are large initially but are gradually decreased to zero. The
program is:

For the purposes of illustration, 10 ps of Langevin (NVT)
dynamics are performed here. In actual applications, however,
equilibration will normally need much longer simulations, especially
when no tether constraints are being applied, and it may also be
preferable to use
alternative sampling algorithms, such as NPT dynamics or even
Monte Carlo. Likewise, some studies will require modifications to the
above procedure. Thus, for example, a hybrid potential investigation of
an enzyme reaction would probably involve a partial
pre-equilibration using a MM potential before finishing off with
simulations with a QC/MM energy model.